The Renovation: A Reverse Harem Romance Page 9

“Well, it’s kind of simple, really. My mother bailed, and my dad didn’t deal with it so well.”

  The sadness that settled over his face made my heart break.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  His gaze held mine. “Thank you. It was a shitty thing to go through, but on the other hand, such a miracle that Carter’s parents stepped up to the plate.” He shook his head as if after all these years, he still couldn’t believe his good fortune.

  “That was so generous of them.”

  “You’re not kidding. I owe them everything. Carter stuck by me, just like his parents did. It was his mom who got me into real estate.”

  I reached for his hand across the table, and when I did, I could swear something shot right up my arm and straight down to my core. I loved how he didn’t take for granted the great family he found.

  We walked out of the restaurant to our waiting Uber.

  “Your place?” he asked.

  To be honest, no discussion was necessary. We knew what we had to do.

  He climbed into the car after me, sliding close, bringing my hand to his lips. His gaze locked with mine as he gave me light kiss after light kiss.

  Of course, I wanted to go to my fucking house. Or his house. Or anyone’s house. Whichever was closer. How about behind that dumpster over there, in that alley?

  “Yeah,” I said softly. I guess that was all the invitation he needed, because in two seconds, he was devouring my lips like he was dying of thirst. The Uber driver could have kidnapped us, that’s how oblivious we were to everything around us.

  When we pulled up to my house, we had to part—you can’t very well climb out of a car when you’re sucking face.

  And don’t you know, my next-door neighbor and booty call from just a few nights before was just pulling up to his house.

  That’s right. Carter Bannon.

  Busted. Goddammit.

  “Yo, Jayma, Dig. How’re you guys?” he called, grabbing groceries from the back of his truck.

  I looked around for a rock to crawl under.

  “Hey, Car. We’re good, man. Just ate at Tony’s in North Beach,” Dig answered.

  “Oh, nice. I love that place,” Carter said with a big smile, heading into his house. “You guys have a good night.”

  Dig took my hand and looked at me. Just another day at the office for those guys, apparently.

  They were completely unfazed at having run into each other with me in tow.

  I, on the other hand, wanted to curl up and die. I fumbled with my key, trying to get inside the house as fast as possible. I pulled Dig in and slammed the door.

  “Are you okay?” he asked when I breathed in relief.

  Was he really asking me that?

  I looked up at him. “Wasn’t it a little weird, running into Carter like that? I feel kind of like I was busted.”

  Confusion crossed his gorgeous face. “No. Not at all.”

  He reached for my hair and ran his fingers through it. “But I can see you’re concerned. You don’t need to be.”

  “If you say so.” If he wasn’t going to trip out, then neither was I. I leaned into him, parting my lips to kiss him.

  I was going to relax and enjoy the ride.

  He pulled back and looked around the living room. “So this is the place, huh?”

  Every person who walked through my front door was amazed the first time they saw the house. Actually, some were still amazed the second and third time they saw its shitty condition. Dig was no different.

  I followed his gaze. “Yup. This would be it.” I waved my arm for the big reveal.

  He turned back to me and said with absolute sincerity, “It has great potential. It really does. Why don’t you show me the rest?”

  Why don’t I just show you the bedroom, where I can tear your clothes off and rub all up against—

  Jesus. What was I becoming? A nympho?

  Eh, there’d be time to worry about that later.

  I brought Dig to my bedroom, the only place in the house not in a complete shambles. Before Lance had bailed, we’d had the room gutted, hung new drywall and trim, and replaced the windows. A nice paint job and a polished floor later, and it looked like something out of a magazine. ‘Course, it was filled with my nice furniture.

  Too bad about the rest of the house.

  As I looked around the room, my mind wandering to what I was going to do about said house, Dig came up behind me. The moment he put his hands on my shoulders, my stress about the place dissolved into a silly little concern that was a waste of time. There were better things at hand, literally and figuratively.

  I arched my neck, letting my head fall into onto his rocky chest. His fingers traveled over my shoulders and down the front of my body, where they stopped at my nipples. Through the fabric of my thin dress, he took hold of them and pulled until I cried out.

  Good lord that hurt. But something about it also felt good. And alive—so very alive.

  As he rolled my nipples through his fingers, he bent to kiss the side of my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access and don’t you know, his little nips and nibbles were so intoxicating I could barely continue to stand. Without letting go of me, he walked me toward the bed, where he lay me across the comforter onto my stomach.

  First, he removed my shoes, and then he undid the long zipper on the back of my dress. With a little wriggling, he worked it up my body and over my head to where it landed on the floor with a little whoosh. That left me in my thong panty and bra. Being facedown, I couldn’t see what he was doing behind me, but I could hear his breath rasping at my undressed state.

  The bed shifted with his weight. He’d climbed up and straddled me, one knee on either side of my hips. I was pinned in place.

  His hot breath was on my ass in an instant, followed by his lips. They brushed back and forth over my cheeks, getting closer and closer to the thin strip of lace running up my crack. He pressed his tongue into the groove, about driving me wild with sensation. I arched my back to push my bum up to his face, and he let out a soft groan.

  “Fuck, baby,” he murmured. “This ass is the stuff of dreams. I can’t get enough…”

  He began to slide my thong down my hips, where it rested around the tops of my thighs. This gave him full access to my backside, leaving me in an explosive state. I wanted him to do something—anything—to grant me a little release.

  But what I didn’t expect was to feel his tongue on my ass. Was this the new thing? Was everybody doing this and I was only just finding out about it?

  His tongue on my most private part was pure heaven. He jumped off me, and in a swift motion, had pulled my thong down and off my legs. He pushed my knees apart just enough to fit his own between them. I could feel his hot gaze on my openness. He pushed and kneaded my ass cheeks, exposing me even further. His breath was on me again, followed by a tongue that stroked down to my pussy. I was so wet, I dripped onto the bed beneath us.

  “You good, baby? You doin’ okay?” he asked.

  “Mmmmm,” was all I could say.

  His hand fell to my pussy, tickling the insides of my soaked lips. They found my opening and teased me there, a finger popping in and out, up to the knuckle. Then in an instant, he filled me with two fingers and began pistoning with a fury revealing a passion that scared—and thrilled me—at the same time.

  I knew he was going to pull a shattering orgasm out of me as I started to shriek for breath and pound my hands on the bed. I arched my hips back and against his thrusts to increase the sensation, my body quaking beyond anything I could control.

  “God, yeah. Oh, give it to me,” I begged.

  “Do you have a condom?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Yes, nightstand,” was all I could mutter.

  I heard the snap of the condom on his cock, and his strong arms pulled me up to my knees. He bent over me, pushing my head down on the bed, and positioned his erection against my opening.

  I wanted it so fucking bad, I couldn’t see.
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  “Please…” I begged. I needed it; I needed him. I needed to forget the mess my life was, and for a moment, believe my beautiful bedroom was all there was in the world—with Dig in it, of course.

  “Are you ready, baby?” he growled.

  “Yes. Yes, please. Fuck me, Dig,” I whispered.

  He eased into me with a groan. I spasmed instantly, approaching another climax that threw my freaking brain offline. A swirling sensation took over, leaving my every nerve screaming.

  A guttural moan from behind pushed me over my edge. I bucked against Dig’s cock, convulsing as he met my thrusts. He pumped me one more time before we slammed to a stop and collapsed on the bed, his arms holding me tightly.

  “God, baby. You are hot,” he said, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger. I watched him pull it tighter and tighter and then let it snap back to a curl.

  I flipped over to face him, our gazes locked.

  “Damnnnn,” I said, running a finger over his perfect chest. “That was amazing.”

  “That,” he said, “was us just getting started.”

  Oh my god, Shelle,” I panted the minute after Dig left.

  “Why are you calling me so late?” she groaned. It was kind of shitty of me to bother her at eleven p.m., seeing how early she got up for her doggy duty. But this was an urgent matter.

  “Shelle, hear me out. I need to talk. These are desperate times.”

  In the background, I heard her taking a sip of the water that she always kept by her bed. She cleared her throat.

  “Okay. Okay, I’m here. What the hell happened? Did the roof blow off the house?”

  “Don’t make fun of my house when I’m in a crisis,” I barked.

  Long sigh. “Okay, geez. Sorry. For chrissakes, would you spill it?”

  “I just went out with the real estate guy, Dig.”

  “Okay. Well, I take it that since you’re calling me so late that means you fucked him? Hey, how come he didn’t stay over?”

  Why did she have to ask these kinds of questions?

  “He had to get up early. Anyway, yes, we had sex. Massive, hot, nasty sex. He was amazing.”

  She yawned. “Okay. I’m happy for you. Now why are you calling me so fucking late?”

  “Because…he’s the fourth guy I’ve dated in the last week and a half. I think I’m an official slut.”

  “Oh god. I don’t know if you’re an official slut, but you are an official idiot. What are you so freaked about?”

  “Let me spell it out for you, Shelle. I like them all. I don’t know what to do,” I whined.

  “You seem to be doing okay to me.”

  “I can’t date four guys. I have to choose one.”

  “Okay. Then choose one,” she said. I heard her sinking back into her bed. I was losing her.

  “How can I? Carter, my hot neighbor, is so sweet. He wants to fix up my crappy house. Tanner, from work, is built like a god and is helping me get ahead in advertising. Wyatt, my world-traveling plumber, has offered to put some time in on the house, too. And the last guy, Dig, the tall, dark, and handsome one, wants to sell the house when it’s done.”

  “Oh. My. Wow.” I had her attention now.

  “And they all seem to like me, just like I like them.”

  “Okay,” Shelle said. “This is what you have to do.”

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “You need to be honest with them. All of them. Tell them how you feel, and that it’s tormenting you. I’ll bet they’ll all date you until you can clearly choose one. And if any of them bail, then you’ll know he wasn’t for you.”

  “Oh my god. I don’t know if I can.”

  “I don’t see any choice. You can be honest with them all and maybe you’ll end up with someone, and maybe not. But if you’re not honest, you’ll definitely end up with no one.”

  Chapter 18

  CARTER

  I wasn’t sure whether Jayma would go for it or not, but she finally agreed to accept my help. Not that she had much choice. I mean, she was down to the wire. The bank was ready to snap up the house with their greedy little hands, leaving her god knows where. Shit, if I really thought about it, I was just as excited about helping her as I was in giving the bank the big old middle finger.

  If we could pull it off.

  We had to fix up the place and sell it. And we had two weeks.

  The good news was that Dig’s date with her had been awesome, just as mine had. We didn’t know if she’d accept the offer of dating us both, but we were patient.

  And—she was coming to stay with me.

  Yup. While her house was worked on, she couldn’t very well stay there—the electric and plumbing had to be cut off. So I offered her and her cat an extra room—my house was huge, anyway. No strings attached, of course. But if she did want to share my bed with me from time to time, well, I’d be quite happy about that.

  I ran across the lawn to her house and rang the doorbell. The one that was hanging out of its socket by a wire.

  Ugh. What was I getting myself into?

  The door flew open, and there stood my redheaded beauty.

  Well, she wasn’t mine, per se. But a guy could always hope.

  “You all packed up?” I asked. God, she looked cute in her jeans and sneakers.

  She took a deep breath and looked around the house. “I think so. I just have these couple bags here.”

  I picked them up while she locked the door behind her. Although I couldn’t imagine anyone trying to break into the place.

  “Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay?” she asked, as we walked over the lawn to my place.

  I pushed open my front door and let her enter first.

  “It’s fine, seriously. I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t. I’ve got tons of room. More than I can use. And I can’t wait to get going on your house. I mean, it’s a contractor’s dream to be able to take something down to the studs and build anew.”

  I dropped her bags in the living room.

  She shook her head. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for this. But really, I don’t see how we can pull this off as fast as we need to. And you’re crazy to front me the money.”

  I walked over to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear

  “I have my calendar cleared and my best guys coming tomorrow. You won’t believe how fast we work. My crew kicks ass. That house is gonna sell, and we’ll all make our money back.”

  “Well, then.” She gave me a naughty little smile. “I’d love to show you how grateful I am.”

  Now that’s what I’m talking about. Shit, yeah.

  In about two seconds flat, she had me pushed up against the kitchen counter, her lips pressed to mine while she fumbled with my belt and fly.

  And my cock, which was already twitching, jumped to full attention.

  She pulled me out of a tangle of boxer shorts and blue jeans and stroked my hard length. Her grip was beyond perfection as she rounded the head of my cock and ran her fingers back down to its root.

  Fuck yeah. I think my eyes rolled back in my head. I gripped the counter as if my life depended on it. I didn’t care what she did to me at that point. It was all good.

  But when her tongue lapped at the precum dripping from my head, my gaze snapped to attention. I wasn’t going to miss this beauty going to town on my hard-on.

  Her lips encircled me, taking an inch at a time until I figured I was partway down her throat. I’d never seen anything like it. She gazed up at me with those freaking gorgeous eyes. They fluttered closed, and she lapped me up and down until her cheeks hollowed from the suction. I had to focus on the wall clock on the other side of the room to keep from blowing my wad right then and there in her pretty mouth.

  And she wasn’t making it easy on me. She no sooner released my cock from her mouth when she moved it aside and stretched her tongue to my balls.

  Jesus Christ.

  She devoured as much of my sac as she could, and I had to admit, I couldn’t h
old back any longer.

  “Shit, baby, I’m gonna come. I’m gonna come.”

  She maneuvered my cock back to her mouth, and with an extended tongue, let me shoot right into her open mouth like it was some kind of goddamn receptacle. She smiled as she looked at me, swallowing an entire mouthful of cum, licking her lips like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

  I gripped her arms and pulled her back to standing.

  “Holy shit, baby,” I said.

  “Hey, guys,” a voice said from the kitchen doorway.

  Poor Jayma shrieked and moved to cover my naked dick, as if I gave a shit that anyone might see me with a partial hard-on, especially Dig.

  “Dude!” I said, tucking myself back in my pants.

  Jayma looked from one of us to the other, eyes frantic.

  And Dig and I just smiled.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, walking to her and planting a big one on her mouth. After a moment, she fell into his arms, which was fucking hot to see, especially when she’d just sucked me to within an inch of my life.

  I pulled some beers out of the fridge, cracked one open for myself, and settled down into one of my kitchen chairs to watch Jayma with Dig. Damn, that guy moved fast. Her top was already off, and as he moved in on her bottoms, she grabbed her own tits and began pulling and twisting their nipples.

  If I hadn’t just come, I’d be stroking myself to beat the band. Those two looked great together, Jayma with her fair skin and fiery hair, and Dig, the perfect dark contrast. He looked over at me just quick enough to let me know he was ready to really turn up the heat. Reaching down, he hoisted Jayma up ‘til her legs wrapped around his back. He brought her over to me and sat her in my lap. Her cute little butt rubbed against my dick, which by then, was getting hard again.

  Goddamn, the effect the woman had on me.

  Dig positioned her so she sat on me with her back to my chest. I put my hands on her waist to hold her in place, and she let her head drop back onto my pecs. Dig parted her legs and draped them outside of mine, leaving her about as wide open as she could get. It was as if she were laid out for sacrifice on the altar of my lap.

  Ha, I’d have to share that thought with Dig, later.